Master Godwin
by Haayls
Summary: Miranda cares a lot for her mentor, Master Godwin but maybe a little too much. Irritated by her constant smothering, he decides to take a break away from her without notification. This helps Miranda to realise that maybe he's not as helpless as she thought and that she should allow him to live more independently.


_((**A/N:** Originally written as a gift to my friend Neri for a Radiata Stories Secret Santa Exchange on Tumblr. Enjoy~))_

The crickets chirped as a young girl and elderly man walked together through the streets of the White Town. Their path lit up by streetlamps was more than enough to make the old man feel safe to walk by himself but the girl still felt it necessary to escort him.

"Miranda, yer know this isn't really necessary. I'm a grown adult, for heaven's sake! Yer treatin' me as if I'm a little lost lamb!"

"You can never be too careful, Master Godwin. In a world like this where this is so much crime and sin, it's always safe to travel together."

"Yer walkin' me literally a couple of yards from Olacion to my house. It's not as if I'm walkin' through Void."

"That's another thing, master. I've been seeing more bandits wandering the streets at night in this area…and you do have a bit of status among our guild."

"Y'know, a pretty young girl such as yerself has a lot more to be worried about in the way of bandits than an ugly old coot like me. People care more about yer if yer good-lookin' these days. And remember, Miranda, yer talkin' to a master monk here. I may not look like much but I can still put up the biggest fight this side of Radiata's ever seen!"

"I don't care. I just feel better knowing that you're getting home safely so that's why I'm here. Those bandits don't have a sense of honour and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. It has nothing to do with how strong you were when you were young or how strong you think you are now. I'm just trying to protect you because you can't defend yourself anymore."

Godwin stopped in his tracks and didn't say a word. The two had already reached his house but even still, he had no desire to talk to the girl any longer after her remark.

"Master Godwin…I…I didn't mean it that way." Miranda said as Master Godwin opened the front door to his house.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Miranda." Master Godwin shut the door behind him.

Miranda stood silently, wanting to knock on Master Godwin's door to further apologise but she figured she had already done enough. After a few seconds of standing underneath the light of the streetlamp outside the old man's house, she finally turned and walked back to her own, plagued by the thought of her words.

Before bed that night, she prayed for forgiveness from the gods and hoped that Master Godwin would find it in his heart to do the same.

Miranda rose bright and early as the 5 AM sun was barely over the rooftops to welcome the new day. She ate breakfast, made her bed, and said her morning prayers before heading out to the Olacion Order for morning mass and later to meet Master Godwin for meditation.

The Olacion Order was quiet with the exception of the echoes of sounds that had escaped anyone who was trying not to make them. As Master Kain gave his morning sermon, Miranda couldn't keep her eyes off the door to her right which led to the hallway in which Master Godwin's room was located. She would inevitably have to face him once she entered. She was reluctant to deal with the cold shoulder he was mostly likely going to treat her to, but at the same time she desperately wanted the sermon to end so she could hurry up and put things to rest with her master.

The hour seemed to drag on as each passing second went by torturously slow but it was finally over and Miranda made her way to her master's room. She stood before the door, nervous but finally worked up the courage to enter. Expecting to see her master meditating in his place, the room was completely empty. This was very strange. Master Godwin had a very precise, planned-out schedule that Miranda had created that he very rarely strayed from. A rush of adrenaline suddenly pulsed through her veins at the possibility that he might not have made it from his house to the Olacion Order that morning. She ran back to the nave of the church to find Master Kain.

"Master Kain!" Miranda panted, out of breath and feeling as though she were about to cry.

"My child, whatever is the matter?" the priest gave a look of deep concern.

"Have you seen Master Godwin around?"

"He went to his quarters earlier this morning to meditate but I haven't seen him since. Is he not in there right now?"

"No! I don't know where he is! I don't know what could have happened to him!"

"Hmm, well that is quite out of the ordinary. Try checking with the other factions. Perhaps they might have seen them. Have faith, my child. The gods would not allow our brother to fall into such danger."

"Yeah, I wonder..." Miranda darted off.

The first room she checked was Anastasia's. Her bursting in unexpectedly was met with angry glares from Anastasia and her twin helpers, Adina and Elena.

"Excuse me, child! But what business do you have in here?" Anastasia exclaimed.

"Yeah, if you really wish to meet with the lovely Anastasia, you have to make an appointment first. You're not the only one who wishes to see her!" Elena remarked.

"Have any of you seen Master Godwin?" Miranda asked desperately.

"Correction: Has Master Godwin seen me? I can't imagine why you would think I would be interested in gazing upon that wrinkly old prune!" Anastasia snubbed.

"But have you seen him?"

"I haven't seen that man since yesterday. Now is that all you came to bother me for or is there something else?"

"No, I'll go look somewhere else, then." Miranda ran off.

"Well, don't close the door behind you or anything!" Anastasia huffed, watching Miranda. "My goodness, that girl was born in a barn."

Miranda sped through every neighbourhood in Radiata Town, looking high and low for her master, asking every single person no matter how much it tired her out but to no avail. She sometimes even checked the same place twice, forgetting that she had already been there. She had lost track of all the places she went. In her state of panic, everything seemed like a blur. She figured he must have run off to get away from her but if he really wanted a break from her, he wouldn't be gone for this long. The only possibility for his long absence would be that he had been kidnapped. Thoughts raced through her mind about all the terrible things that could be happening to Master Godwin at that very second and how scared he must be.

The sun was already beginning to set, painting the sky a pinkish orange. Pretty soon, it would be dark, and hence the perfect time for worse things to happen to him. As the sun lowered, her blood pressure rose and her hope faded. Each passing second was torture and too many of them were going by.

She stopped outside of Olacion Order to catch her breath as her lungs stang from all the running. The sun still lit up the sky enough to see Master Godwin surrounded by a group of children. He was singing them songs and teaching them about life and giving them small pretzels as reward for participating. Miranda was about to run up to him and give him the greatest scolding he had ever seen for running off but she stopped herself before she even had a chance to move her feet again.

He looked so happy surrounded by those children. They admired him and respected him in a different way Miranda had. They all looked up to him as the mature elder he really was. They expected him to guide them and look out for them, not the other way around. Miranda stood silently, smiling for a moment. She then decided to head home as the sun set over the horizon.

_"__When he's ready,"_ Miranda reflected, _"He can walk himself home."_


End file.
